Matchmaking
by Kitty O
Summary: A bit of fluff. Merlin gets a young couple together with Arthur's unwitting help and Gwen's willing aid. Short chapters. No set time, but before the end of S3.
1. Storytelling

The door slammed with a loud boom, startling Arthur right out of his dream…

"_Mer_lin!" he hissed angrily, sitting straight up in bed, glowering at the manservant.

Merlin, wearing his same old jacket and blue neckerchief, took no notice of the Prince, which only irritated the Prince further. He had been dreaming of Gwen, and Merlin had no business barging in so loudly. That was no way to wake up from this sort of dream.

"Good morning, Sire!" sang the servant, putting down the tray he held.

Arthur's scowl deepened. "It was fine until you came in like that. I asked you to learn to knock, I know, but are you trying to break the door down?"

"Knocking wasn't loud enough," responded Merlin, quite unfazed by Arthur's black look. "Cheer up, Arthur, it's a great day!" He made his way to Arthur's wardrobe and grabbed him a shirt, throwing it towards its owner.

Arthur tossed his sheets to the side and grabbed the shirt from the foot of his bed. "What makes it so great?"

Merlin's goofy grin was ten times brighter than usual. _He'll start bouncing up and down any minute now, _thought Arthur, somewhat alarmed.

"It just is," said Merlin with a laugh. "Do you think I need to polish the armor today? I planned on waiting until tomorrow, but…"

"Merlin, what's wrong with you?" Arthur cut him off.

Merlin grinned even wider, if that was possible. "Well, it's nothing. Just the greatest news I've heard in weeks."

Pulling the shirt over his head, Arthur's reply was muffled.

"What was that, Sire?" asked Merlin, rocking back in forth on the balls of his feet happily.

"I said, tell me what the news is, then." Arthur took a sausage, inspected it, and bit in.

"Oh, you won't care."

"Sure I will."

"No, you won't."

Arthur met his eyes for a moment, and then back down at his food and said, "Okay. I won't care. Merlin, today I need you to take my shirt – you know, the red one – and…"

Merlin suddenly laughed. "Okay, fine, I'll tell you! Blair and Victor are getting married!"

Arthur looked up. "Who?"

"Blair! Victor! I've only been trying to get them together for weeks!"

Rolling his eyes, the blond prince muttered, "Oh, that Blair and Victor. That clears it up."

Merlin didn't notice the sarcasm, but just crowed gleefully, "And it's really all thanks to you, Arthur!"

"Me? Merlin, I don't even know these people!"

"I know you don't, but I've been using you to get them together for a while now. I admit, I thought it was a long shot at the end, what with both of them being so stupid, but it worked out beautifully!"

"Merlin."

"Yes?"

"I have no idea what you are going on about."

From the look on Merlin's face, one could assume that he'd just learned his birthday would come twice this year. "Oh. Well, then. I'll have to tell you the story, won't I?"

Dismayed, Arthur began to stand. "You know what? I think I'm okay, actually…"

"No, no, you wanted to know what I was talking about! Sit down."

Arthur made an effort not to groan. He couldn't ignore the feeling that he'd just walked into a trap, and he would be here a while. But he sat back down.

_A/N: Yes, same Blair introduced in my story _The Start of a Beautiful Friendship_, chapters one and two. It's not necessary to read that, but you can if you wish to meet Blair. Victor, however — he's new. These updates will be fast and short. Please review, and I hope you stick around for the rest. I can offer you a good reason to do that, too! _

_The reason being, I just used the word 'dismayed'. That's an amazing word, and made me happier than it should have!_


	2. Plotting

**A couple of weeks ago**

"Morning, Victor."

Victor didn't answer.

Merlin paused and looked at the thin servant, who seemed to be staring into space. "Victor? You awake in there?"

Victor jumped and finally looked at Merlin. "Oh, hey, Merlin." There was a hint of a smile on his lips, and his brown eyes seemed unusually bright… Suspicious, Merlin looked to where Victor's gaze had just been.

"Oh, look, there's Blair," said Merlin. "I should say hello."

Victor's expression turned from one of a friendly welcome to one of awe. "You know her that well?"

Merlin was surprised. "Sure…" he said slowly, his brow creasing. Then he got it, and began to smile. "She's kinda pretty, huh?"

"Hmmm? Oh, um…" Victor blushed a little. "Kind of, I guess. Maybe."

Merlin gave her an up-and-down glance. "I think she's _very_ pretty."

Victor gave him a suspicious look. "Don't stare like that; she'll think something's wrong."

Smiling a little to himself, Merlin said, "Why don't you just go tell her hello?"

"I don't really know her… She might not even know my name…" Victor stumbled over his words, a sure sign that he admired her.

"I'm sure she does. How could she have helped noticing you?" _Especially if you stare at her like that._

"It's a big castle."

"Not that big, Victor. Have you ever introduced yourself?"

"Errr… no."

"You want me to introduce you two?"

Victor looked a little distressed at the suggestion. "Maybe some other time. I'm busy now."

Merlin watched as the tall man scurried away. Yes, indeed, Victor was interested.

A few moments later, Blair stopped on her way down the hall to tell him hello and ask how he was. Blair had always liked Merlin, since the first time she met him he was saving her brother from being picked on. It's the kind of thing that makes a girl fond of you forever.

"Merlin!" she said happily, brushing her hair from her face. "How's work?"

He smiled at her. "It's hard."

"Don't drop dead of exhaustion," she teased. "I know how you like to work yourself to death."

"No promises," he joked right back.

There was nothing else to say, he realized as an awkward silence fell over them. He wondered how to tactfully bring up the subject._ "Hey, Blair, I think Victor over there has a thing for you. Ever considered liking him back?" _was not going to cut it. No, there had to be a better way to broach the subject. "So, what were you up to, then?" he asked instead.

"Just some chores. Would you believe Cook doesn't think my bread is light enough?" Sweet-tempered Blair looked irked.

"That's preposterous," he assured her, for he could see that she looked bothered by this. Besides, he'd eaten Blair's bread before (apparently, saving someone's brother from complete humiliation meant that you got invited over to dinner a lot) and it was nothing short of divine. _Blair would make a good wife, _he thought, Victor in mind. But he was getting ahead of himself. He didn't even know if she knew who Victor was.

"So now," she continued, "I have to bake about twenty more batches for tomorrow!"

Merlin raised his eyebrows and smiled. "Twenty. Really."

She shrugged. "Okay, maybe that's a slight exaggeration."

"I'd imagine."

"It's probably only nineteen batches."

"Well, I'm sorry, anyway," he said sympathetically.

She sighed heavily and brushed her hair out of her face in that way that she had, because the front was too short to tie up and always fell down.

He waited.

At last she asked, politely, "And what have you been up to?"

"I was just talking to Victor."

"Victor?" And thus Victor became the topic of conversation. Merlin congratulated himself on this small bit of maneuvering.

"Yeah, he just walked away. Did you see him?" He gestured to where Victor had gone.

Blair seemed to consider this, casting her mind back, and then her face lit up. "Yeah, I've seen him. I just didn't know his name. Victor. That's nice." Was it his imagination or was her smile a little more coquettish than usual? Perhaps she thought Victor was attractive.

"He's a great guy."

"I suppose, if you think so."

Merlin took a little breath and looked purposefully away. "You should talk to him. I think you'd like him."

"If I run into him, I may." She sounded relaxed, but Merlin didn't know if that was because she wasn't at all interested in Victor or because she was just relaxed by nature.

Suddenly, she remembered how busy she was and gave an unhappy yelp. "Oh, Merlin, I've got to run or Cook will try to box my ears again. Bread, remember?"

"Right. Well, I'll talk to you later, then, Blair."

"Of course. Always nice to see you."

"'Bye."

"Goodbye!" she called over her shoulder as she rushed away. Merlin watched her go, a small smile making his lips twitch upward.

She would be perfect for Victor. Blair was quiet, and he liked to talk, and she was delicate while he was strong. But Blair had a forceful personality, while Victor could not easily be cowed yet didn't have to have _everything _his own way. He liked attention. She was affectionate, and loved to give attention as well as recieve it. And he was unassuming and liked to learn while she liked to discover and teach in her own way… But at the same time, they were very alike. Both were helpful (especially Blair) and worthy of anyone's respect, and they were intelligent. Both were friendly. And she'd probably marry soon anyway… Who better than Victor, who already liked her?

Of course, Merlin had a very busy schedule right now. He had to help Gaius, gather herbs, clean anything Arthur dirtied, run around doing silly chores for the prince, protect Camelot from any dangerous criminals/sorcerers, make sure the Prat didn't get himself killed, keep Arthur's weapons sparkling and _working_, practice his magic, make sure no one discovered his magic, and help Gwen with her emotional "I'm-in-love-with-a-prince" problem. That was just the tip of the iceberg, actually. But he thought that if he squeezed and got no sleep for several weeks, he could add 'Matchmaking' to that list...

_In that case, I'd better stop dilly-dallying. I've got to get to plotting, _he thought. Grinning, he continued down the hall.

* * *

_A/N: If you haven't read Beautiful Friendship, you don't know this: Blair's brother is the servant from S1E1. You know, the one who Arthur was throwing knives at when Merlin first met the prince. That's what they mean when they say Merlin saved him. (I'm told the servant is named Morris, but I call him Tucker. I like it better.)_


	3. Conniving

**Present**

"Merlin," Arthur said, cutting him off, "this is a nice story, but I don't see how it has anything to do with me…"

"Wait for it, Arthur. You will."

"Shouldn't I be getting ready for training?"

Merlin sighed and gave him a little aggravated look. "You are ruining my mood."

"That's a shame," simpered the prince.

"Back to the story. But keep in mind, some of this I heard from others, because I wasn't _always_ there." Merlin once more started on his slightly-altered version of the story, knowing he would just have to work around the parts with any magic.

****

Back to the story

**The next morning**

"Victor!"

Victor turned around and saw Merlin rushing up the hall behind him. "Hello, Merlin. Can I help you?"

Merlin caught up to him, breathing a little hard. "Yes, actually. Are you too terribly busy?"

"No, I have some time off… Do you need something?"

"I do. Could you just... stay here for a few minutes?"

"That's all?" Victor raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, that's it. I'll be back in a little while… Just watch and see if Gaius passes by, will you? And tell me if he does." Merlin tried to look nervous as he spoke, allowing a lopsided smile to appear on his face.

Victor looked suspicious, which wasn't uncalled for, as anyone who knew Merlin at all could testify. "What are you up to?"

"Nothing bad. I'd swear to it." Not a lie.

"How long will this take?"

"Not long at all. Really. I don't think."

Victor held out for a moment, but then sighed in surrender. "Okay. Fine."

Beaming, Merlin thanked him and walked away to find Blair. He looked around the castle for a bit, at last finding her outside by the pump, washing the last of some flour off her hands.

"Morning, Merlin," she sang when she saw him.

"Blair. I was looking for you."

Her hand rose to push her hair away out of habit, even though her hair wasn't in her face. "Why?" she asked, realizing her hand was dangling uselessly in air and rubbing it down her dough-splattered apron.

"I need a favor."

**A few minutes later**

"Still don't see what made him so busy that he couldn't bring up the laundry himself," she said under her breath as she lugged a basket up the stairs towards Arthur's room. Generally, Merlin would never ask anyone to do his work for him, and that was the only reason she had agreed. Blair figured he must be doing something important.

She grunted at the weight of the bundle and shifted so she was holding it against her hip. How many articles of clothing could one prince of Camelot go through, anyway? She probably hadn't worn so many in all her life put together!

"Can I help you, ma'am?"

Blair froze and looked up, brushing her hair from her face with her free hand… and peered into the most beautiful pair of brown eyes she'd ever seen.

"Uh…" She blinked. Three times. "Sorry?"

Victor, seeing who he was talking to, felt suddenly nervous. "Do you need some help?"

"Uh… Oh, I'm sorry. Yes, please. That would be great."

Victor helpfully took the basket from her, lifting it easily. "Where do you want this?"

"By Prince Arthur's door, thanks."

"No problem," he told her cheerfully, and began to walk down the hall. She fell into step beside him, smiling and self-consciously wondering if her face had flour on it.

After a moment of silence, she spoke up. "Victor, right?"

Victor was astonished. And flattered. "Yeah, that's right. Blair?"

"Yes, that's it." She watched him hold the basket as though it wasn't heavy at all, and barely kept back a low whistle of appreciation. "You must be strong," she said admiringly. "That thing is heavy."

"A little heavy," he agreed, pleased at her words. "But I bet you're pretty strong yourself. You work in the kitchens, don't you? I've seen you around there."

She gave him a pleasant, friendly smile as she replied, "I sure do. Bread kneading will give you some muscles, I suppose."

And the next thing they knew, they were chatting like old friends, quite forgetting to stumble over their words or look nervous around each other. Still, her heart gave a little jump when he focused those brown eyes on her. And everything about her made _his_ heart feel much lighter.

It was a very, very strange way to feel, she decided ten minutes later, when they were standing to the side of the Crown Prince's door, deep in conversation.

At last she remembered that she had some work to do, and he probably did as well, so she bid him goodbye. "It was nice meeting you. Perhaps I'll see you again."

"That would be great. Goodbye, Blair."

Smiling and basket-less, Blair made her way back to the kitchens, blessing Merlin mentally for the favor he'd asked. She liked Victor. He seemed sweet. And, unlike every other man she knew (including her brother), she got the strangest feeling that she could trust the words he said, that he wouldn't make things up. She admired that.

She hoped she saw him again, and this time in a clean dress.

Down in the armory, sharpening Arthur's sword, Merlin whispered the counter spell to the Listening-In enchantment he'd performed, so that he could no longer hear the faint mumbles that meant they were saying 'goodbye'.

"_Diwedd." _

His plan had worked. Now they were at least introduced. But this was just the beginning. One meeting would not convince a couple to begin courting. No, he would need to orchestrate many more little scenes like this, first.

Merlin smiled at the thought, running the sword along the wheel and enjoying the grinding sound, which somehow seemed just as eager and conniving as he.

_A/N: MERRY CHRISTMAS! Unless you don't celebrate Christmas, then Merry Whatever-You-Celebrate, and Happy New Year if you celebrate nothing. Please review, or I will be sad. You don't want me sad on Christmas! Besides, I used the word "aggravating", which is one of my favorites._


	4. Meeting

_A/N: I'm bored! So I'll post early. Enjoy, friends!_

The problem was that Blair and Victor were busy, and so didn't have much time for socializing. This concerned Merlin—because you can't court someone if you've only had a chance to talk to them once.

And so, the next part of his plan came into action—having them run into each other. A lot. Being Arthur's manservant helped him to execute this part of the plan.

First, they ran into each other at a banquet, filled with nobility. Of course, they didn't have much chance to talk to each other there, as Merlin knew they wouldn't, but at least they saw each other.

"Blair," was the whisper in her ear, "bring the platter over that way—Arthur loves those, and he's been staring at them hungrily."

Then he casually – but very quickly, or he'd miss the window of opportunity – sauntered over to Victor. It wasn't out of character at all for the silly servant to suddenly spill wine all down the front of the shirt he wore – thankfully, it was a shirt Arthur gave him to wear for the evening, not his own.

"Blast it! Victor, help, take this."

Chuckling, Victor took the plate out of Merlin's hands, because his own were momentarily empty. "Most graceful, Merlin."

"Thanks. Hey, please take some of that to Arthur before he has me thrown in the stocks or something; he's thirsty. I'll go clean myself up and be right back."

As Merlin hurried to the kitchen to wipe at the red wine as best he could, he looked back over in shoulder. Just in time to see Blair and Victor smiling at each other over Arthur's head. It was most certainly worth the scolding he was going to get from Arthur to see those smiles.

Next, Merlin recruited Gwen to help him in his plans. Because she was woman through and through, Gwen was only too happy to help a blossoming romance.

"Blair! Hello, dear," Gwen said the next day. "What happened to your sleeve?"

Blair inspected the rip in it. "Merlin. Whose idea was it to let him run around with a knife, anyway?"

Gwen pretended to be surprised. "At least he didn't hurt you. Did he fall?"

"Spectacularly. I swear, Gwen, he's clumsier than usual. I only have two dresses, after all, and this one will never look the same."

Gwen tsked a couple of times, shaking her head slowly. "Well, Blair, you know I'm a seamstress. I can fix that dress up as good as new, in no time. You won't even be late for making lunch."

Blair's eyes lit up. "You think you can?"

"I know it." She'd better be able to, she thought. She'd promised Merlin that she could.

"Great! Now?"

"Sure, if you don't mind running down to my house with me real quick."

"No problem!"

Meanwhile, near the outside wall of the castle, Merlin breathed out a foul word.

"Forget something?" asked Victor, who'd nearly run into him when he'd stopped in the middle of the walkway.

"Yes," moaned Merlin. "And I really need it, but I don't have time to get it."

"What is it?" asked Victor with neighborly interest. He wasn't in a hurry to get anywhere, because he had the hour off. Merlin just kept running into him during his free time.

Such a coincidence.

"Arthur's red shirt. It's the only clean one, except the one he's out sweating in right now, and he's going to want to change into it… But it had a rip, so I left it at Gwen's place to be fixed…"

"…And now you forgot it," finished Victor, shaking his head. Merlin truly was incompetent, nice though he was.

"But I don't have time to get it, because he wants the floor cleaned when he gets back." Merlin gave a dramatic groan, perhaps overdoing it a bit, and put his head in his hands.

Victor shook his head sympathetically. "I wish I could help."

Merlin's face brightened suddenly. "You can help, actually. Thanks for offering. Since you're on break…"

**Present**

Arthur interrupted. "You had my red shirt fixed? I was going to have you get that done today..."

"I know," said Merlin with an impish smile. "I can put my schemes into action and get my work done at the same time, you know."

Actually, Arthur hadn't known. But he did now.

**Back to the story**

That afternoon, Gwen told Merlin that the plan had been a success. When Blair answered Victor's knock, he promptly forgot he was busy and they talked for ten minutes. "They'd have gone on forever," she told Merlin, "but then Victor remembered that you wanted him to hurry and said he had to go. She looked sorry to hear it."

Merlin sighed and put his head in his hands, with real chagrin this time. "We need to get them together and give them time to talk."

Gwen sighed and sat down at her table. "But they both work all the time!"

Merlin smiled. "Not all the time. We just need to get them together at the end of the day."

"That shouldn't be too hard."

Merlin agreed. "They'll be married in no time."


	5. Walking

Victor winced as Merlin's hand descended on his shoulder. It was the next night, and for obvious reasons, the servant was growing rather annoyed with Merlin.

"Yes?" His breath nearly exploded from his mouth, catching his lips and making them flap.

Merlin smiled at him. "Hey, Victor, I was wondering if you could…"

"Another favor?"

Merlin opened his mouth… and closed it. And opened it. "Well, yes, I…"

Victor tried his hardest not to glare, remembering how his mother used to tell him to live for others; he attempted a smile.

Merlin looked a little shocked. What was that look? One would think that Victor wanted to eat him!

"Uh…"

Victor cursed a little in his head… He hadn't meant to make Merlin feel badly, but enough is enough, after all!

Studying him for several seconds, Merlin came to a conclusion. That conclusion was: _Eh, what the heck. Might as well. _

"Victor, could you just stay? Here. In the hall, for a little while?"

"Why?" asked Victor suspiciously.

"Don't worry about it. I promise you won't regret it; you are going to like me for it, actually. As long as you stay here."

"When can I leave? I want to get home soon."

Merlin's smile, in all its cheeky glory, blossomed on his face. "Oh. You'll know."

And then he slowly walked away, occasionally issuing orders to 'Stay put!' until Victor felt like a dog with a particularly goofy master.

A few floors above them, Gwen was apologizing to Blair over and over again.

"Thanks, and I'm so sorry, usually I wouldn't ask for help with my chores… I just don't know where the time went to!"

Blair laughed it off. "Please, Gwen, it's not a big deal. I was glad to help after you mended my dress yesterday."

"But I've kept you out after dark!"

"Perhaps Tucker waited for me, so as to walk me home. He does that when I'm late. What about you, Gwen? Are you going home now?"

Gwen smiled kindly and shook her head. "No, but I will soon; I have one more thing I wanted to attend to. You go ahead."

Blair nodded, but her brown eyes looked slightly concerned. Gwen shooed her away, and so Blair went—but not without a backward glance.

That is, until she found not Tucker, but Victor waiting at the front hall.

"Victor! Waiting for someone?"

He saw her… and smiled so big that his face grew much rounder. Was this what Merlin meant? He'd never doubt the man again. "No," he said. "About to head home."

"Me too. I do wish it wasn't so dark out." She said with a small flutter of her heart. Would he pick up her hint?

"Really? You know, we do live in the same direction. And it really isn't safe for you to be out alone so late… Would you like an escort?"

Blair nodded, but not too eagerly. Then Victor shrugged out of his jacket…

…_Ohmigosh, _thought Blair, _he isn't actually going to_…

…and placed it gently on her shoulders. She thought her smile must make her look like an idiot. He thought she'd never been prettier. It was nice when she was happy.

Then, never taking his eyes off her face, he opened the door and they walked home together.

A few stories up, Merlin and Gwen watched from a window as two small figures walked together through the square.

Gwen sighed ecstatically and leaned against Merlin. "It's too sweet."

Merlin agreed, saying, "It is. It makes me feel good inside."

"I hope nothing goes wrong on the walk home."

"Tucker will tell me tomorrow if it does," Merlin said in an attempt to assuage her worry.

Gwen looked up at him and chortled, "You have just about the whole kingdom on your side, don't you? They should marry now and save us a lot of trouble. It's not like you're giving them a choice anyway."

Merlin laughed at that, but agreed with every word.

**Present**

Arthur smirked. "Why, Merlin, I didn't know you were such a romantic. It's quite… feminine."

Merlin raised an eyebrow and looked at Arthur as he voiced the dire threat: "Romance is just girly? I'll be sure to pass that on to Gwen, Sire…"

Arthur stood up in alarm. "If you dare…!"

Merlin's look was downright evil as he brushed Arthur's words aside.

Trying to appease his suddenly dangerous servant, Arthur admitted, "It was a nice story. I'm glad the chores I gave you helped…" He considered saying he would give more, thought of Gwen, and then shut his mouth.

Merlin gave him a puzzled glance. "What, you think it's over? You don't imagine it was that easy! Of course not! Victor was a total dolt about the whole thing…"


	6. Courting

**Back to the story**

The next morning, Merlin and Gwen sought out Tucker and grilled him for information. Apparently, all had gone quite well, and both Blair and Victor seemed to be quite besotted with each other.

Merlin was thrilled. "Surely they'll begin courting soon?"

Tucker sighed. "I doubt it."

Merlin looked up, alarmed. "What do you mean?"

"There hasn't been a word, not a breath of romance. At all. He didn't even ask if he would see her around."

Merlin gnashed his teeth. "Fie," he swore. He'd have used stronger language but for Gwen's presence. "Who's holding back?"

Shaking his head slowly and glancing around for either member of the couple, Tucker admitted, "Probably not Blair. She practically danced her way to bed."

"Victor, then. It figures; he's shy."

"That's it, then?"

"Well, it isn't over! We just need to push him along," said Gwen.

"With what, a fire poker? Nothing else will get him going." Merlin looked dejected, but suddenly he perked up. "Wait a minute, wait a minute. Something else will."

"What?" Tucker looked enthusiastic.

Merlin smiled mischievously. "Jealousy. Just you wait. They'll be courting by this afternoon."

And then he turned on his heel and fled down the hall.

**A while later**

"So, I heard you walked her home last night."

Victor nodded. They were standing in yet another hallway, both watching Blair as she stopped and spoke to Cook. While Merlin watched her openly, Victor only sent her little half-looks every once in a while.

"But you have no plans to see her again."

Victor shrugged.

Merlin surveyed him coolly. "Coward."

Victor shot him a little glare. "Merlin, as much as I appreciate your interest in my life, could you knock it off? I can't believe Arthur puts up with you; no wonder he's so grouchy!"

Merlin was unfazed. "So you are a coward. Or maybe you don't care? If that's the case, you shouldn't take up her time."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Blair's a pretty girl; I've said it before. If you don't wish to court her, I'm sure someone else would."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Victor's forehead was creasing in concern.

Merlin ignored him, giving Blair another, more thorough glance. "…Maybe me."

"_What?"_

"Well, I know I've been practically holding your hand this whole time, through this whole thing, but if you don't want her…" He smiled. "I may ask her to go for a walk with me."

"She won't want to walk with you."

"If you aren't interested in her, she may not be in you," pointed out Merlin.

"I never said I wasn't interested!" cried Victor, dark eyes flashing.

"Just scared? Yes, indeed, if you aren't going to ask her, I may. I may do it now."

Victor growled, "Merlin, if you so much as talk to her, I'll rip out your throat!"

"Oh, yes, that would be impressive." He raised his voice. "Hey, Bla—!"

Suddenly Victor knocked into him, whispering desperately, "Shut up!"

Down the hall, Blair looked up in confusion.

"Merlin, I know what you are doing."

"Really." He did? Did that mean he still wouldn't ask?

"And you can't have her. Blair's _mine_." Okay, apparently he didn't know.

"Does she know that?" challenged Merlin.

Victor's eyes widened, and his mouth dropped open slightly. He met Merlin's gaze… and choked out, "No."

Then, determinedly, he turned and marched towards Blair while Merlin looked on, congratulating himself.

"Excuse me, Cook," said Victor calmly. "I'd like a word with Blair. Blair…"

"Yes?"

"I would like to know if…" His voice, which had started out so strong, faltered. "I was wondering if…" His voice was lowering. Merlin groaned inwardly.

"Yes?"

"Er… Blair."

She nodded, baffled at his behavior but waiting patiently. "That's my name, yes."

"Would you…" He couldn't say it. Heavens, it wouldn't come out. He looked back… and saw Merlin standing there, smiling wickedly. A flash of jealousy rushed through Victor, heating his face, and he found the ability to stay strong and steady. "Would you, perhaps, come for a walk with me later? And could I come call at your house this week?"

She stared at him, eyes huge. "You… would like… to come call sometimes?"

"Yes. If… if you want," he stuttered.

And then she began smile. Well, it could be called a smile, but it was more like a beam, and it could hold its own in a contest with any ray the sun could send out. That's how happy she looked. "I would love that."

And she did love it.

**Present**

Arthur studied Merlin. "Why do I not think this is over?"

"Maybe because you aren't as dumb as a stack of hay, even if you are a knight." Merlin ducked to avoid the pillow Arthur threw and continued, "No, that is when things went horribly wrong, of course."


	7. Fighting

_A/N: Just gonna say, the response to this thrilled me. Just a fluffy fling of mine, and it has more reviews than many of my more carefully thought out, detailed stories… I don't even try to understand. So enjoy and review! Only a few more chapters. By the way, I know that this may be a little unrealistic… This is the middle ages, and I imagine men could hit or yell at their girls or whatever and get away with it. But I'm a woman so I know that if he did, she'd probably make his life hell, right?_

* * *

"How could things go wrong? They began courting, didn't they?" Arthur looked almost worried.

Merlin nodded. "And for about a week or two, all was fine."

"And then…?"

Merlin looked mysterious. "And then."

**Back to the story**

Blair was walking around with a black scowl on her face that morning, and everyone seemed to shy away from her.

Except Merlin, who really did seem to be lacking in self-preservation.

"Morning, Blair."

She just looked at him, a little taken aback that anyone would dare speak to her.

"What's wrong?" he asked, still chipper.

She grunted and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Victor."

Merlin cocked is head to the side. "Little love spat?"

"Merlin, I hate to be rude" – though from the tone of her voice she relished being rude at the moment – "but could you please shut up and go away?"

Merlin's smile faltered. "What happened?"

"Victor!" she repeated.

"What did he do?"

She opened her mouth, as though to explain, then closed it again, and shook her head.

"Seriously, what did he do?" Merlin looked genuinely concerned.

She gave a small scream of frustration, threw her hands up in the air, and stalked away in a swirl of blondish hair.

"Oh," said Merlin quietly, and went to find Victor.

"It's nothing, Merlin," said Victor when he was found, leaning over a fireplace and poking at it quite furiously.

"Really? You're killing that log, by the way; the fire doesn't need it."

Victor stood up swiftly and gave Merlin a look that matched Blair's.

Merlin sighed. "Just apologize to her, Victor."

"I didn't do anything wrong!"

"So? Victor, she's a _woman_. It doesn't matter what you did—"

"But I didn't!"

"—You just say you're sorry anyway, or she could stay mad forever!"

Victor shook his head. He'd grown up with his father and brother, Merlin remembered, so he might not yet know anything about how to deal with women. (Not that Merlin was so great at it himself, but even he knew that who was _right_ mattered very little in an argument.)

Victor just shook his head and turned away. "I _didn't_ insult her bread making," he grumbled under his breath. "And I _didn't _say her nose was big."

Merlin gawked at his back and gasped, "That is what this is about?"

"She misconstrued everything I said!" cried poor inexperienced Victor, turning back, his brown eyes angry and hurt.

"Did you apologize at once or did you try to explain what you said?"

"Tried to explain it."

Groaning, Merlin guessed, "And then it turned into a fight about almost everything under the sun, right?"

"Yes!" Victor looked astonished that Merlin would know this.

"Tried to bring her some flowers?"

"Picked 'em myself. She threw them out the window! Are all women like that?"

"Pretty much. Just give her a day to cool off, and then apologize, but nicely. If she's really mad, make her laugh. That usually works. Never tell her she's wrong!"

"That's stupid!"

"It is. But when they aren't mad at you, it's worth it."

"No! I refuse to do that when I am _right_!" And Victor, too, stalked away.

Merlin sighed and shook his head. Surely they would both come around soon. They really liked each other, so one of them would put aside pride and apologize. Then all would be happy again, right?

As the week passed, and the angry looks Blair and Victor shot each other turned into regretful but proud half-looks, and neither talked to each other, nor spoke about each other, Merlin grew nervous. When, five days later, Tucker reported seeing Blair crying into her pillow (but of course _he_ was smart enough not to say anything to her), Merlin realized that something had to be done.

He needed a plan.


	8. Scolding

**Present**

"What do you mean, you needed a plan? What did you already have?" asked Arthur, who had forgotten the little of his breakfast that was left and was leaning forward so as to better hear the rest of the story.

Merlin rolled his eyes and waved his hand dismissively. "I needed a new plan. This is the part where you got involved."

"I don't remember it."

"You wouldn't. Eat your breakfast, Arthur."

"Oh, right. So what did you do?" asked Arthur, chewing.

"Victor's pretty shy, and he takes criticism hard; getting yelled at really upsets him. Blair doesn't mind being in trouble so much, but she hates to have her vanity damaged."

"You thought that if they were upset enough, they would get back together?" Arthur looked dubious.

"Like I said, they are pretty affectionate, and they did like each other; they just needed to be in the right place at the right time."

"So how did you make sure they were both in trouble?" asked Arthur, curious.

Merlin coughed awkwardly. "I lied to you," he said, which was stretching the truth. But he didn't think saying "I used magic" would go over well.

"_Mer_lin!"

"It was for the sake of love! All's fair in love and war…? OW! Arthur, stop throwing things; you'll hurt me."

**Back to the story**

It was hard to get Victor in trouble, as he never did anything wrong or even looked like he was doing anything wrong (something that Merlin, being Merlin, found a little exasperating).

Luckily, when you have the greatest magical powers that the world has ever seen (or so the dragon kept telling Merlin), making people look silly is as easy as pie.

"Victor, watch it!" ordered Merlin as the servant bumped into him, causing the warlock to stumble and knock into Arthur.

"_Mer_lin!" started the prince, but Merlin defended himself with a shake of his head and a finger pointing at Victor.

Victor looked embarrassed as the prince gave him a small glare.

Arthur continued on to practice, Merlin tagging along behind him and Victor trying to keep his distance, as he was heading the same way; he was off to clean some floors and needed water from the pump.

Later Victor said that he was watching his feet most carefully the entire time, so he didn't trip again, and that was why the plate fell out of his hands. It was silver, valuable, and luckily undamaged, but it hit the floor with a loud clatter, causing Arthur to stop and turn around.

Victor went red in the face when Arthur gave him a strange look and then gave the plate another. Then he began walking, a little faster, so as to get away from the person who was more of a klutz than Merlin.

For a while things went without incident, as Merlin was biding his time. At last he got his chance, when he saw Victor walking by the training field.

_Perfect!_ thought Merlin joyfully when he saw what Victor was holding: a bucket of water. It would have been better, of course, had Victor already put soap in it, but one can't have everything.

"_Taith!"_

Merlin turned his head so no one would see his eyes flash gold, but still he heard the sound of one soon-to-be-scolded Victor falling to the ground—

"Oof!"

—and a bucket of water flying through the air, landing inevitably where Merlin had commanded it…

He looked up in time to see the bucket land, upside down, directly over Arthur's head. Water splashed everywhere, running down his armor…

**Present**

"Merlin! _You_ tripped him? I nearly had him put in the stocks… You are mucking out the stables every day for three weeks!" cried Arthur, incensed.

"And then you got confused, like someone turned off the light, and you lost the fight with Sir Leon, swinging your sword around like a maniac…"

"Four weeks!"

"And your hair was plastered to your face when you finally got that bucket off, and you started looking around like you were a madman, and your eyes were _this big_…"

"Do you want to make it five?"

"No, I think you get the picture. Anyway, you called Victor an idiot and 'more useless than Merlin', and I think you even threw in a 'clotpole' somewhere."

"And he took it like a man even though it was your fault, I know, _Mer_lin. And then he went inside, looking like a whipped puppy," growled Arthur, and Merlin, seeing his face, deemed it wise to skip the next little part of his story…

**Back to the story**

"If you need to hide out," whispered Merlin as Victor walked away, "I'd try the first floor, near the kitchens."

Victor glared at him balefully as he walked away.

Merlin turned his eyes back to Arthur's mess and restrained his laughter, reminding himself that it would be_ his_ job to keep the armor from rusting. Still he worried about his little plot. The rest was up to Gwen.


	9. Succeeding

The minute Merlin could sneak away, he sought out Gwen, dying to know how the plan had worked out.

"I think it's going to work!" she assured him, smiling as they hurried down the hall. "I managed to herd them both into the same hallway—by the kitchen. Blair's crying; what did you do to her anyway?"

Merlin had the good grace to blush and look at the floor. "I just got her into a bit of trouble with Cook… You know the temper that woman has; it didn't take…"

"Merlin."

"I may have complained that I had a problem with her cake."

Gwen sounded exasperated as she sighed, "Merlin… You know how sensitive Blair is about her cooking."

"Hey, I could have complained about her bread; then we'd _never_ hear the end of it…"

Gwen had to laugh. Blair, despite being intelligent, kind, and having a very even temper, was notoriously defensive of her cooking. Usually this wasn't a problem, as her food _was_ the best around and she didn't get many complaints. But occasionally it caused problems.

Today Merlin wanted it to fix a problem.

Shaking her head at her friend, Gwen said, "Well, she was crying, and he looked like a storm cloud himself, but then he saw her…" She raised her eyebrows meaningfully.

Merlin smiled just as meaningfully. "And…"

"When I left she looked like she was about to be crying on his shoulder."

"This could be it. I think this is a success!"

Gwen slowed her steps and motioned for Merlin to do the same as they approached the next corner. "Shh!" she whispered. "They should be just about here…"

In the hallway, Victor had his arms wrapped around Blair, and she was crying into his shoulder, not minding his hug a bit.

"I… I know I'm being silly," she sobbed.

"No," he lied through his teeth. "It's not silly; I understand."

She gave a choked laugh. "It's just that Cook can be so mean!"

"I know it."

She wiped her tears from her face, then pushed her hair away. "I'm sorry about the fight we had, Victor. I want to make up. I know I was being difficult."

He swallowed his pride and told her, "No, it was my fault. I knew how you felt and…I should've respected that."

"That's man-speak for you don't know what you did wrong, but you don't want to be in trouble," she said with a chuckle.

"No, I mean it!"

"You have no idea what you did wrong," she accused.

Victor pushed her away slightly so he could smile at her sheepishly. "No, I don't, but next time if you tell me what I did, I will apologize better."

"Deal." She grinned at him, and he had to catch his breath again. She _was_ pretty.

"I love you." He didn't know what made him say that; it just slipped out before he could stop it. Victor winced.

Blair just looked up at him through eyes that were still filled with tears. "You mean that?"

"Of course." He might as well make the most of it, now that he'd said it. "And… I hope that…" He swallowed. "I hope that one day you will be my wife."

"What is love anyway?" she stalled, not thinking that he would have the answer ready.

He surprised her.

"That's easy. Love… it's not just a feeling of fondness, though sometimes it is accompanied by that. It's an action, too. Love is what makes you stay up into the wee hours of the morning, though you are sick and exhausted yourself, talking to your wailing, ill brother because he can't get to sleep. Love is what makes you say, 'I wish it was me instead,' and _mean it_, when you wish it didn't have to happen at all and have no wish to suffer yourself, honestly. Love it what makes your father offer you the last bits of food on his plate because he saw you eyeing it, though you know he wants it himself. And love is what makes you refuse that food that you are dying for. Love… love is what makes you stand there, holding and comforting a girl who is crying," – here he looked down at her fondly – "though you have no idea what you are doing, and her tears make you panic helplessly, and it would be easier to run away."

"Wow," she said, awe-struck, her eyes shining. Then she went up on her tip-toes, putting her arms behind his neck, and kissed him soundly.

Behind the corner and down the hall, Merlin and Gwen gave muted cheers and embraced each other triumphantly.

_A/N: There's your chapter! Only one more left. That was exhausting. I had to add that deep part in; I thought of it last night at three o'clock when I couldn't get to sleep for my brother's wailing like Marley's ghost. No, if you will excuse me, I will get back to being sick. Please review! I would love it!_


	10. Ending

**Present**

"He actually said that?" Arthur gawked at Merlin, by now having dropped his pretense of not caring.

Merlin nodded and stood up. "Almost word-for-word." He caught a glimpse of Arthur's face and grinned. "But don't go trying it on Gwen; she was there and heard him say it, remember."

"Merlin?"

"Yes?"

"Shut up."

"Whatever you say, Sire. Ready for training?"

Arthur tried to not look disappointed and failed. "It's over, then?"

"Pretty much. This morning, when I was in the kitchens getting your breakfast, Blair ran into me and told me the news. I hope the wedding is soon…"

Arthur couldn't help giving a pleased smile that mirrored Merlin's, and the manservant noticed.

"It's a nice ending to a story, isn't it, Sire? Even if they are just servants."

Affronted, Arthur scowled and said defensively, "I never said that."

"Maybe not, but you were thinking it."

"_Mer_lin!"

Not intimidated, Merlin simply responded, "Eat your breakfast, Sire. So… what do you plan to give them as a wedding present?"

Arthur swung at him half-heartedly in reply, which Merlin easily ducked, still wearing his goofy smile.

"Merlin," said Arthur, finishing his breakfast, "you're an idiot."

"Thank you, Sire."

**End.**

**Since it is the last chapter, could you make an extra effort to review?**

_A/N: I really hate to burst their bubble, so I didn't tell them that that actually isn't the ending. If you want to know it, check out Chapter 5 of The Start of a Beautiful Friendship, under **Blair**'s section. I warn you, though, it's not all that happy. _


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